This I Promise You
by jjluvxoxo
Summary: After the death of Marissa, Seth and Summer grew apart, and broke up. They're now leading separate lives, but what happens when they realize they can't deny each other any longer? Will they come together or just move on? Chapter 4 added!
1. Like We Never Loved At All

Two years after Marissa's death, Summer is still at Brown in Rhode Island and Seth is at RISD in Providence. Ryan has finally gone to Berkeley, realizing it was the first step to getting over her. Summer and Seth broke up shortly after Thanksgiving the year Marissa died, because Summer had changed, no matter how hard she didn't want to, and Seth decided that he had to let her go so she could move on with life. They both still love each other, but they can't go back because they've grown apart. They haven't seen or spoken to each other in a few months, because it's just way to hard for them to just be friends with no feelings or sparks between them.

Summer isn't dating anyone, although she and Che are really good friends, and Seth is with a girl from RISD, Arielle, who is almost exactly like Anna.

Ryan isn't with anyone either. He still loves Marissa although he tells himself he doesn't. He and Theresa stay in touch and are good friends.

Sandy and Kirsten are still going strong and still live in Newport.

Julie ended things with Neil and is single, living in a house with Kaitlyn near Sandy and Kirsten.

Neil took a job in Seattle Grace and lives there now. He and Summer still have a great bond and they talk every week.

Like We Never Loved At All  


Summer Roberts tried to open her dorm door balancing her purse, binders, and large French vanilla cappuccino in her arms.

"Summer," She heard a voice behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Che running up to her. "I'll get it." He said.

Summer handed Che her keys and he unlocked and opened the door for her.

"Thanks Che." Summer said, going into her small dorm that she shared with Amber and set her purse and binders on her bed and sat down beside them, taking a sip of her coffee while Che made his way down onto the floor in front of her.

"So are you busy tonight?" Che asked, and without waiting for an answer, "Good, 'cause there's this convention thing for some comic book and a lot of us are going down there to protest."

"Protest what? That unitards should be outlawed?" Summer asked sarcastically.

Che gave Summer a look of confusion, "No," He said slowly, drawing out the 'o', "That they're comics should be printed on recycled paper." He explained to Summer.

"Oh." Summer said looking down at the ground. "I don't think I'm going to be able to make it."

"Please?" Che asked, trying to look at Summer's face which was still staring down.

"I'm really sorry Che," Summer apologized, looking at him as she said it, "But tonight's not a good night."

Che sighed and got up and sat down beside Summer. "Why not?" He asked carefully.

Summer turned her head towards Che and gave a small, shy smile. "Because today's-"

"Today it's two years since her and Seth broke up." Amber interrupted, shutting the door behind her quite loudly.

"Thanks Amber." Summer said sarcastically, sneering at the girl.

Amber returned Summer's sneer and went over to her bed and lied down heavily.

Che put his arm around Summer's shoulders in comfort, "Are you okay?" He asked.

Summer nodded gently and set her drink on her bedside table and turned to her friend again.

"It's just hard." She spoke kind of softly and Che nodded. He pulled Summer close to him and she put her arms around him and he hugged her in comfort.

"It'll be okay." He assured her.

Summer nodded, but couldn't help thinking that it should be Cohen with his arms around her, comforting her. But he had another girlfriend, he had moved on. So why couldn't she? Summer's thoughts were interrupted by the high pitched ringing of Amber's cell phone.

Amber groaned and got up and went out into the hallway, leaving Summer and Che alone.

Summer pulled away from Che but still stayed beside him and let him keep his arm across her shoulders. She wiped away the few tears that had fallen but then smiled at her friend.

"Thanks." She said softly.

"No prob. Why don't we go down to the convention to get your mind of things." Che suggested.

"Sure," Summer said, "Let me just go get ready." She said, standing up and going into her very small bathroom.

Summer quickly fixed up the makeup that had smeared just the smallest amount from her wiping her tears away, then grabbed her purse and coat and locked the door behind her and Che.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Seth Cohen was lying on the couch reading the latest issue of People. He was reading an article about Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe getting a divorce.

"But they're the perfect couple!" He cried.

He heard his front door open and threw the magazine under the coffee table and grabbed the TV Guide instead.

"Hey Seth!" He heard a cheerful voice call, and saw his girlfriend Arielle saunter over to him, throwing her purse onto the love seat.

"Hi." Seth said, although not so cheerfully as Arielle, standing up and letting his girlfriend place a short kiss on his cheek.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, trying to put her arms around her boyfriend's waist, but Seth put his hands around them and gently pushed them away.

"No." Seth said shortly. Truthfully, this day was probably the worst of the year. It was the day that he and Summer, the love of his life, ended their relationship.

"Okay," Arielle said, not really believing him, "Well there's a comic book convention tonight. Do you want to go?"

"Sure."

"Good." Arielle said, with a smile. "Well do you want to grab dinner before?"

"I'm not really hungry." Seth told her, going over to the kitchen and opening the fridge, taking out a bottle of water and opening it, taking a long sip from it.

Arielle sighed deeply and walked slowly over to the living room couch of Seth's apartment and lied down, turning the TV onto Gilmore Girls. Seth went into his bedroom, not looking at his girlfriend as he passed.

He went over to his bedside table and opened the drawer, taking out a framed picture and sitting down on the bed. He turned the frame right-side up and gazed longingly at the picture. It was one of him and Summer; his favorite one of the two of them. It was taking when him, Summer, Ryan, and Marissa were at the model home on the day Marissa was killed.

Seth was standing up in the large pool and was cradling Summer in his arms. There were both smiling widely at the camera and looked so in love with each other.

It was the last picture taken of them before everything fell apart. It was the last day that Fantastic Four was all together.

Seth was so absorbed in the photo and his memories that he didn't hear his girlfriend come into the bedroom quietly. Arielle went over to him slowly and sat down on the bed, close to her boyfriend but not right beside him.

"Is everything okay with you?" She asked him.

Seth turned his head towards Arielle and smiled slightly at her. "Yeah." He said, kissing her lightly on the lips. When they parted, Arielle looked down at the framed photo Seth held in his hands and bit her bottom lip, frowning in confusion.

"You and Summer." She stated, not really questioning what she was saying. She knew what today was; some of Seth's friends had told her.

"Yeah." Seth said softly. It was really hard for him to talk to anybody about that tragic and heartbreaking day, even his girlfriend. "It doesn't mean that I'm not over her or that I'm still in love with her or anything, it's just that today's really hard for me." He explained to Arielle.

"I know," Arielle assured him, "But it's okay if you still are in love with her. You loved her for so long, I can't expect you to get over it so fast."

"Arielle," Seth said, "Thank you."

"Sure." She said, smiling at Seth. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Seth said, linking his and Arielle's hands together and standing up, pulling her up with him.

This was one of the reasons he liked Arielle so much; she wasn't controlling and didn't mind a lot that he wasn't totally over Summer. Sure he probably never would be completely over her, and he would always love her, but he hoped that there was room in his heart to love someone else; someone like Arielle. He hadn't said that he loved her yet, he wasn't sure that he did, after all they'd only been dating 6 months, but there definitely was potential.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Summer, Che, and the large group of protesters entered the large reception area of a hotel that was being used for the comic book convention. They had handfuls of signs saying things like "Superman loves the Rainforest."

"Hey Summer," Che said, handing Summer a stack of green and orange paper flyers, "Can you go to the entrance and pass these out?"

"Sure." Summer said, handing Che her signs and going over to the entrance of the room.

She began handing out flyers to random people who came past her, and she was sure that she saw a tall, familiar girl with long, light brown hair. She closed her eyes and shook her head, passing out more flyers, keeping her eyes on the girl whose head was turned slightly to the side, keeping Summer from getting a good look at her.

Summer then saw a very familiar man with brown and curly hair go over to the girl and kiss her, putting his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. Summer had to look away to stop the tears that were starting to form in the corners of her eyes as she realized that was Seth and his new _girlfriend_. It seemed wrong to just think of Arielle as that.

_That would have been me_. She thought to herself sadly.

The couple began walking towards her and she saw Seth look at her with shock and surprise on his face. Once he came to about five feet in front of her he stopped and gave a small kind of wave, and Summer smiled back. He and Arielle began walking again and when they came right to Summer they didn't stop but Seth spoke.

"Hey Summer." He said casually.

"Hi Cohen." She said back, a little surprised that's all he said before walking away, laughing with Arielle as he went.

Summer choked, trying to keep her tears in as she ran and found Che, handing him the flyers and telling him she had to leave. She ran as fast as she could out of the hotel and onto the sidewalk outside. She took a deep breathe, trying to regain her composure. She ran her hands through her hair slowly as she walked over to the side of the hotel and leaned against the rough wall.

Summer began to let the tears stream down her face as she thought about how he hadn't even stopped to talk for a bit. How he didn't look totally devastated and heartbroken, just joyful and happy as he kissed and played with Arielle.

_Because he's moved on. _Summer thought to herself. _Now you have to as well. Because then you'll never be happy._

_You never looked so good  
As you did last night  
Underneath the city lights  
There walking with your friend  
Laughing at the moon  
I swear you looked right through me  
But I'm still living with your goodbye  
And you're just going on with your life_

_How can you just walk on by  
Without one tear in your eye?  
Don't you have the slightest feelings left for me?  
Maybe that's just your way  
Of dealing with the pain  
Forgetting everything between our rise and fall  
Like we never loved at all_

_You, I hear you're doing fine  
Seems like you're doing well  
As far as I can tell  
Time is leaving us behind  
Another week has passed  
And still I haven't laughed yet  
So tell me what your secret is?  
To letting go, letting go like you did, like you did  
_

_How can you just walk on by  
Without one tear in your eye?  
Don't you have the slightest feelings left for me?  
Maybe that's just your way  
Of dealing with the pain  
Forgetting everything between our rise and fall  
Like we never loved at all_

_Did you forget the magic?  
Did you forget the passion?  
Did you ever miss me  
Ever long to kiss me?_

_Maybe that's just your way  
Of dealing with the pain  
Forgetting everything between our rise and fall  
Like we never loved at all_

_You, you never looked so good_


	2. Fix You

**Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C or its characters; this storyline however does belong to me.**

Chapter 2

"_Hey Summer."_

"_Hi Cohen."_

It was the first words the two had shared in over 3 months. They had seen each other once in that time, at a Brown event. Seth's girlfriend, Arielle, went to Brown and Summer and Seth had run into each other at a career fair. It was incredibly awkward for the both of them, not really for Arielle because she was totally oblivious to the whole situation, choosing to "mingle" with her Professors, (aka suck up to them so they'd favor her) and hadn't seen the obvious romantic tension between her boyfriend and Summer.

And now here Summer was, crying into her pillows because Seth had almost totally ignored her earlier at the convention. Sure he said hi to her, but his gaze didn't linger for even a second, the way it always used to, instead he was focused on Arielle.

God Summer really hated that girl. Not that she was mean or anything, actually she was the opposite. She was so overly nice to everyone, even Summer. No one could explain that; Summer was in love with _her_ boyfriend, was openly mean to her, and criticized her every action and word, and yet Arielle treated Summer like a friend. Summer figured it was because Arielle wanted Seth to really like her, and that meant being nice to her. She really had no clue why Seth liked her and what he saw in her. Yeah, she read comic books and watched those dull, pointless Anime movies, but she was so, boring. She had no personality whatsoever, she wasn't outgoing, and she was disgustingly pleasant all the time.

Sometimes Summer wondered if Seth was with Arielle just so he would be distracted. Tonight could be proof of that. He didn't want to deal with his feelings so he pretended he was all in love with Arielle. Maybe it was to help him move on from Summer. He didn't want to be stuck wallowing over her so he got another girl to keep him from sinking into depression. Or maybe, it was to make Summer jealous and show her that was over her and their breakup wouldn't keep him from living life.

Deep down Summer knew that most of her reasoning's were false. Seth wouldn't use somebody like that. It just wasn't in him. And she knew he wouldn't make her jealous, not intentionally anyways. He knew it would hurt her, and Summer knew that Seth would never go out of his way to hurt her. But maybe he was with Arielle to distract him. He probably did like her in some way, but maybe it was in the friendship kind of way. After all, she was almost exactly like Anna, and he only loved her as a friend. Why would he love Arielle? She was Anna with brown hair, and slightly taller.

Summer let the flood gates open fully and tears spilled down her face rapidly and heavily. She gently pulled Princess Sparkle off of her night stand and held her closely to her chest and just let every emotion she had been feeling over the past two years out. The death of Marissa, the decline of her relationship with Seth, and the day he broke up with her, telling her it wasn't working anymore because she had changed so much.

"_Summer?" _

_Summer looked up from her laptop and at the doorway of her dorm and a huge smile came to her face. _

"_Cohen!" She cried, jumping off of her bed where she was doing her homework and running over to him. _

_Seth gave a small smile as Summer ran over to him and threw herself into his arms. He held to him as tightly as he could, and buried his face into her shoulder. He could smell her shampoo. The same one she had used back in high school; pomegranate and kiwi. _

"_I love this smell." He whispered, and Summer laughed at his comment. _

_When he didn't respond she tried to pull away to see his face, because obviously something was wrong, but he just held her against him. So Summer put her arms around him tightly as well, and pressed the side of her face against his chest, taking in his Cohen-y scent that she loved, the scent of laundry detergent, soap, and cologne. _

_After a few minutes of just standing there, with Seth's hand gripping her shoulder blades with his strong hands, Summer's curiosity took over her and she wanted to find out why he came all the way to Rhode Island. It actually surprised her that he came, because their relationship had not been at its best the last few weeks. They had been arguing more than usual and didn't talk as much as they used to; and when they did, there were lots of awkward silences, a strange thing for them._

"_Cohen," Summer started, pulling away from him, "Is there anything wrong?" She asked carefully._

"_Kind of." Seth said, his voice filled with anxiety._

"_What is it?"_

"_Summer," Seth sighed, "Maybe you should sit down._

_Summer did as her boyfriend said, a million thoughts running through her mind. _

_Oh god I hope no one died! Did my dad get into an accident or something? No, they would have called me for sure. Maybe something happened to Sandy or Kirsten! Summer prayed that wasn't it. The Cohen's were her second parents and she loved them as much as she did her father. But Cohen wouldn't be acting so calm, he would have called her right away if they were hurt._

"_Cohen, please tell me what's going on." Summer pleaded._

"_Okay, so here's the thing," Seth said shakily, "Summer, you know I love you. I've loved you since I was ten years old, and every day at school I watched you, hoping that someday you'd love me too. Uh, I didn't mean for that to come out creepy and stalker-like, but maybe I **was** stalking you back then. I mean it'd explain a lot and-"_

"_Cohen," Summer interrupted loudly, "You're rambling. Please just get on with what you have to say."_

"_Yeah, it's just, really hard to say." He said. _

_He was stalling. And Summer knew that. Whatever he was going to say to her couldn't be good, or else he would have just got on with it like he normally does._

"_Look I know we've been having problems," Summer told him, deciding to take charge and let him know what she was thinking so he could tell her what he really wanted to. "And since she uh, since she died, I've been acting differently, but you have to know that it's not you. It's so far from being because of you. I just need time to, adjust."_

"_That's exactly what I'm thinking, that you need some more time to just feel what you really need to feel. To come to terms with what happened; and I'm standing in the way of that."_

_He said the last part so quietly, Summer almost thought she had imagined what he said. _

"_Seth-" She tried to say that it wasn't like that, but he stopped her by putting his hand gently against her mouth._

"_Summer, please just listen to me this time." He said, and Summer nodded so he took his hand away. "I'm not doing this because I don't love you anymore, because I do. It's just that what happened, changed us all so much, you especially. And I love the new Summer just as much as the old one, if not more, but you need to move on from it, move on from Newport; and you can't do that if you're with me."_

_Tears ran down Summer's cheeks, leaving a thin path of mascara behind them. _

"_You're breaking up with me?" She asked, not recognizing her voice as it came out in form of a whisper. _

_Seth looked down at the floor and then looked back up at her, tears rolling down his face as well, showing Summer how really hard this was for him._

"_I'm really sorry Sum." He whispered, his voice gone._

_It was breaking his heart to do this to her, but it was for the best. She'd always be stuck in the past if she was with him. She deserved to live life without thoughts of Newport and Marissa following her everywhere she went. _

"_Why are you doing this to me? To us?" Summer yelled, her rage finally overtaking her. She stood up from her bed and stood in front of Seth. _

"_I'm not doing this to hurt you, I think it's for the best." Seth said calmly._

"_How? How is this for the best?" Summer cried, not trying to remain calm. How could she stay calm? The love of her love, her soulmate, the person she was supposed to share the rest of her life with, was breaking up with her!_

"_You have to move on. As much as you tell everyone, you're not over it! You're not even close to being over it! And I've tried to help and be there for you, but you're pushing me away!" Seth explained loudly. His calmness had evaporated and was now standing up, facing Summer, although a few steps away because he was afraid of her during a rage blackout._

"_So this is how you're going to help me? By leaving me?" She screamed. _

_Summer was sure the entire state of Rhode Island could hear her screams at Seth. But she couldn't care less. And she hadn't even reached the peak of her rage blackout yet!_

"_Summer I am **not **leaving you!" Seth defended, "I'm doing this for you, so you can move on."_

"_Stop it! Just stop it! Stop telling me I need to move on and stop telling me it's for the best! Just **stop**!" Summer stormed angrily to her dorm door and opened it violently. "Get out." She said coldly, not even looking at him._

"_Summer, I don't want to leave it like this." Seth pleaded._

"_Just go." She told him desperately. _

"_I really do love you still, Summer." He told her quietly as he walked out the door and into the hall._

"_You could of fooled me." She said, her voice had no emotion in it at all. _

_Seth tried to argue with her statement, but she slammed the door in his face. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes, but it didn't stop the tears that streamed down his face. _

_On the other side of the door, Summer let her body lean against the door. She closed her eyes and just began sobbing. Her body became weak and her legs gave out, so she fell to the floor and put her head in her hands and just cried about everything that had happened only seconds before. In a matter of minutes, her world had come crashing down. She told the only man she ever loved to get the hell out, and he did. _

_She expected Seth to drop down on his knees and tell her he was an idiot and of course he didn't want to leave her. But he didn't. Instead, he had obeyed her, just like he always had, and left._

_And just this once, she wished he wasn't wrapped around her finger. That he didn't follow her command. Because now, he was walking down that hallway, walking out of her life forever._

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want, but not what you need  
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse_

_When the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?_

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

_High up above or down below  
When you're too in love to let it go  
But if you never try you'll never know  
Just what you're worth_

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try and fix you_

_Tears stream down your face  
When you lose something you cannot replace  
Tears stream down your face  
And I..._

_Tears stream down on your face  
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes  
Tears stream down your face  
And I..._

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And i will try to fix you_


	3. I Wanna Be With You

* * *

I Wanna Be With You  


Three months later

It was 4 o'clock in the morning and Seth's phone was ringing piercingly, and Seth himself was groping blindly around his nightstand trying to find the phone in the pitch black. His hand finally connected with the object and he took it of its base, pressing the talk button and holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello." He said, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

"Seth, it's Mom." Kirsten's voice was shaking on the other end, and Seth immediately sat up, worried about the way his mother was sounding.

"Mom, what's wrong?" He asked quickly, the sound of a lot of people talking was coming through the phone. "Where are you?"

"We're at the airport."

"The airport?" Seth asked, confused at what was going on. "Why are you there?"

"We're going to Miami." Kirsten explained, not really knowing how to break the news to her son, "Your Nana died, Seth. I'm so sorry honey."

Seth stopped breathing for a second. He thought he had heard his mother incorrectly; The Nana wasn't dead. She was going to outlive everybody, as his father had said over and over. But she was sick, and she had been for a while.

"Seth?" Kirsten asked, there had been silence since her words, and she wanted to make sure her son was still there.

"Yeah, I'm here." Seth said, he thought about it for a minute, and then spoke again to Kirsten, "Okay, I'm flying out to Miami too. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"But Seth you have school, you can't come down all the way to Miami." Kirsten argued.

"It's fine. I'll catch up on the work I miss." Seth said, going over to his closet and grabbing a pair of jeans and a novelty t-shirt.

"Well I guess; I'll see you later then." Kirsten said, "I love you."

"Love you too, bye."

Seth quickly got dressed, grabbed some clothes out of his dresser, not really caring what he put in the duffle bag he had taken from under his bed, threw on his coat, and shoved his wallet and cell phone into his pockets. He locked the door to his apartment quickly and then ran over to the elevator, pressing the main floor button. When he got out of the elevator he ran out the door of the building and onto the sidewalk, raising his arm to hail a taxi.

After about ten minutes, apparently very few cabs were out at this hour, one finally stopped and Seth got in, telling the driver to go to the airport. It was about a ten minute drive to the airport, so Seth decided to call Arielle at Brown and let her know where he was going and that he'd be away for a few days. Surprisingly, she didn't answer her phone so he left a message. Next he called Summer, and like Arielle, she didn't pick up.

"Summer, it's Seth. I'm really sorry to bother you, but The Nana died. I'm on my way to Miami now. I just thought you should know-"

Seth's message was cut of by Summer's voice. Apparently she had woken up and picked up her phone.

"Seth, did you just say that The Nana died?" Summer rushed.

"Yeah, my mom just called. I'm on my way to the airport now."

"Oh my god. Are you okay?" Summer asked.

For a few moments they put their tension aside and just focused on the news of the death. Summer wasn't really surprised he had called her; they were still kind of friends after all, and he really needed someone he knew and trusted right now.

"I'm fine." He assured her, "Sorry to bother you, go back to sleep."

"Are you kidding? I'm going to Miami with you."

Seth couldn't believe what she was saying. Of course, he wouldn't oblige having Summer come with him. He could really use the company and it was probably best to have someone else with him so he didn't do something stupid, but it was going to be really weird for them to be together.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'll be at the airport as soon as I can. Bye."

Summer hung up the phone and threw the covers off of herself. She went over to her closet and threw on some jeans, a grey Brown hoodie, and a pair of black and white Converses. She threw her hair into a careless ponytail, but didn't put on any makeup. She took a large Louis Vuitton bag and put some clothes and makeup into it. She also remembered her wallet in her bedside table drawer and put it in her sweater pocket along with her cell phone, and was out the door, running down the hallways and stairs until she finally got to the student parking zone. She unlocked her silver BMW and got in, driving of into Providence to get to the airport.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Seth's taxi pulled in front of the airport and Seth handed the man some money, and ran through the doors to the first airline ticket counter he saw.

"When's the next flight to Miami, Florida?" He asked the middle-aged woman.

The woman typed something on her keyboard then looked at the computer screen in front of her.

"There's a direct flight to Miami leaving at 6:05 AM." She told Seth.

"I'll take two tickets." Seth said. He took his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a silver credit card and handed it to the woman who ran it through the machine and typed something. In a few seconds two tickets came out of a slot in the counter and she handed them to Seth, along with the boarding passes.

"Have a nice flight."

"Thanks." He said, taking the tickets from the woman and going over to sit on a chair. There were only 2 other people sitting in the waiting area of the small airport. One was fast asleep, lying on a few chairs with her head on her luggage. The other one was listening to his Ipod and reading a book.

After 20 minutes of waiting, Summer finally came running through the airport doors.

"Summer!" Seth called, and Summer walked quickly towards him. She sat down on a chair and then turned all her attention towards Seth.

"I got here as fast as I could." She said, out of breath from running.

"The plane doesn't leave for another two hours." He told her, "I got your ticket." He handed her the ticket which Summer gratefully took.

"Thank you." She smiled at him and he smiled back at her, making her heart melt and her insides turn. "How are you?"

"Not that good." Seth answered honestly.

Summer gently put her arm around his shoulder to comfort him, and spoke softly.

"It'll be okay. I'm here for you." She said sincerely.

Seth smiled slightly at Summer and leaned his head against her shoulder. It should have felt strange for him to be lying on his ex-girlfriend who he hadn't spoken to in weeks, but for Seth, it felt natural and comforting. Sure, it should be Arielle he was leaning on, who was comforting him, but he and Summer went way back and had a huge history together, so considering the circumstances he figured it was alright for them to be together. And it was great to have someone you cared for deeply and who you knew cared for you as well help you through a death in the family.

"Seth?" Summer asked quietly, almost afraid to speak to him. She was nervous talking to him because they hadn't spoken in a while, and she was afraid of what he might say back to her.

"Yeah?" Seth responded, still leaning against her side.

"Do you love her?"

Seth didn't need to ask Summer who "her" was. He was always scared that Summer would ask him this, because he wasn't really sure what to tell her.

Part of him wanted to scream out no and that he loved Summer, but the rational part of him wanted to lie to her. Because if he lied, then it would be easier for them to pretend they were over each other and move on with life.

"No, I don't love her." Seth told Summer truthfully, "Yet." He added.

The last word that he said shattered Summer's heart all over again. So he didn't love Arielle yet, but he hoped and figured he would.

Summer knew she never would love another man again. Seth was the only one she ever did and ever would. And she thought that he felt the same way. How can you love someone since you were ten years old, who you stood on a coffee declaring your eternal love for, and then just somehow simply fall out of love with them and then fall in love with the next girl who came your way? Who does that?

So Summer being the hard-headed girl with a lot of pride, didn't want Seth to see the pain he had caused her by saying those words, put her sadness and heartache away like she had done the last couple of years and spoke strongly to the man beside her.

"Well I hope things work out for you two, Arielle's a great girl and you guys are so perfect." Summer lied through her teeth. She meant nothing she just said.

Seth knew Summer was lying but he pretended he believed her words. It killed him to tell Summer that about him and Arielle. And it was a total lie. He couldn't see himself falling in love with his girlfriend and honestly, he didn't want to. Ever since Summer walked into his life he had no desire to love another girl. It wasn't possible for him. Summer was the only one. But sometimes in life you can't have the one you want and are meant for. Sometimes you have to let the one you love go, because they deserve so much better than what you can give them. And all Seth would give Summer would be memories of the past and pain of losing Marissa.

Now things were awkward between them again. Summer wished she had never asked him if he loved Arielle, because now they were sitting with four plastic blue chairs between them, the tension existent again.

Finally, a woman's voice was calling for people to board the flight to Miami. Seth and Summer stood and Seth offered to take Summer's bag for her and she agreed. They walked up to the counter, Summer about 5 feet in front of Seth. They silently boarded the plane without even looking at each other.

Apparently this was a connecting flight from some other place, because the plane was almost full. Summer and Seth made their way to their seats, and were slightly angry that they were beside each other. And there was another man at the end of the short row so one of them couldn't move to the other seat. And to make matters even worse, they were in coach so the seats were extremely small and close together, so when they were sitting down, their arms and legs were slightly touching.

After the plane had taken off, Summer and Seth were just sitting there, staring and the dark blue fabric of the seats in front of them. Seth turned to look at Summer, but at the same moment she was doing the same and their eyes locked.

The tension over their breakup and being around each other again that was there before was now replaced by the sexual tension that was caused by their gazes and the close proximity of their bodies. Their breaths were caught in their throats and their bodies had suddenly become extremely hot. Summer was getting dizzy and everything around was blurred, except for the man in front of her. Seth was starting to lose control of his thoughts; thoughts of his Nana and his girlfriend. The only thing that was going through his mind was images and flashbacks of him and Summer together.

Without either of them noticing it, their faces had moved closer together, their lips just inches apart. The desire and need that was taking over their whole bodies was about to take over their minds and rational thoughts, and they were about to close the distance between their lips for the first time in over two years, until the man sitting beside Seth tapped Seth on the shoulder firmly. Seth pulled away from Summer and turned to the man.

"What?" He asked, extremely annoyed at the man's totally inappropriate time to interrupt them.

"Could you turn off your light? I'm trying to sleep." The man said rudely.

Seth reached up and hit his and Summer's light switches off with his fist. The two of them leaned back fully against their seats and closed their eyes, trying to recover over the intensity of what had just happened. They should have been happy that they were stopped. They were broken up, there was too much hurt between them. And Seth had a girlfriend. But they were sorry that their moment together was stopped. They hadn't had sexual tension with anyone, especially each other, in over two years and it was the most intense they had ever had. Even more then when Summer was dating Zach and Seth had come over to draw her in her Little Miss Vixen costume.

And with neither of them noticing each other, they both shed a single, silent tear.

_I try but I cant seem to get myself  
To think of anything  
But you  
Your breath on my face  
Your warm gentle kiss I taste the truth  
I taste the truth_

_We know what I came here for  
So I won't ask for more_

_I wanna be with you  
If only for a night  
To be the one whose in your arms  
Who holds you tight  
I wanna be with you  
There's nothing more to say  
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way  
I wanna be with you_

_So I'll hold you tonight  
Like I would if you were mine to hold, forever more  
And I'll savor each touch that I wanted  
So much to feel before  
How beautiful it is  
Just to be like this _

_I wanna be with you  
If only for a night  
To be the one whose in your arms  
Who holds you tight  
I wanna be with you   
There's nothing more to say  
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way  
I wanna be, I wanna be with you_

_Oh baby  
I can't fight this feeling anymore  
It drives me crazy when I try to  
So call my name  
Take my hand  
Make my wish   
Baby, your command_

_Yeah  
I wanna be with you  
There's nothing more to say  
There's nothing else I want more than to feel this way  
I wanna be, I wanna be with you  
I wanna be with you  
Wanna be with you, yeah  
I wanna be with you, I wanna be  
I wanna be with you  
I wanna be_

_I wanna be  
I wanna be with you, yeah  
I wanna be with you  
I wanna be, I wanna be baby  
I wanna be  
I wanna be with you  
I wanna be with you yeah  
I wanna be with you  
I wanna be with you_

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and as always, if you have comments or suggestions, please review!**

**Song: I Wanna Be With You by Mandy Moore**

**_jjluvxoxo _**


	4. Beautiful

Beautiful

When the airplane had finally landed in Miami, both Seth and Summer were very eager to get off of it and into the airport. The held their bags in their hands as they fought their way down the small aisle of the aircraft, and when they finally reached the door, they walked briskly down the tunnel and out into the main area of the airport.

"Where are we meeting your parents?" Summer asked.

"At their hotel." Seth replied.

The two of them finally made it outside and hailed a taxi. It was easier to get someone to stop for them because it was later in the morning, around 6:30. Seth and Summer got into the car and it drove off towards the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

"Look, Summer," Seth said quietly, not wanting the driver to hear their conversation, "About what happened on the plane-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Summer interjected. She was sitting on the other side of the seat, as far away from Seth as possible, and looking out the window.

"I just wanted to say," Seth ventured carefully; he was a little nervous around Summer right now because she was showing signs of a rage blackout, "That it can't happen again. I mean, I have a girlfriend."

"It didn't even happen." Summer snapped, turning her head to him and giving him a glare.

At that moment Seth's cell phone rang and he reached into his jacket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Seth, it's Arielle."

"Hey Arielle."

At the mention of Arielle, Summer turned from angry, to annoyed. Why was it that Summer, not Arielle, was the one in Miami with Seth? You'd think that after hearing the message Arielle would have gotten on the plane and flown to Miami, but no; Summer was the one who did that. Summer figured that Seth's girlfriend wasn't as thoughtful and sincere as she seemed.

After Seth had spoken with Arielle for a few minutes, Summer decided to put her lividness towards him aside for a second.

"Is she coming down?" She asked.

"No."

"Why not?" Summer asked, trying to sound sorry. Inside she was thrilled that fake wasn't coming to Miami.

"She doesn't want to miss school." Seth told her.

"Yeah right." Summer said quietly. The comment wasn't meant to be heard by Seth, but it was anyway.

"Why don't you like her?" Seth asked. He could sense Summer's bitterness towards Arielle, and he didn't blame her, actually, it comforted him to know that Summer wasn't over him.

"I do." Summer lied. She didn't want Seth to think she was jealous.

"Fine." Seth gave in, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with this conversation.

The taxi driver, having heard their conversation, looked into the rearview mirror and asked Seth and Summer,

"Are you two together?" He had a faint Spanish accent.

"No!" Both Seth and Summer answered at the same time.

"Well why not? You'd be very lucky son." He said in a friendly way with a wink at Summer.

"I know." Seth said quietly and genuinely.

Summer looked over at Seth, her cold glare softened as she processed his words. Soon the taxi pulled up at the hotel and Summer opened the door of the car and ran inside while Seth paid the driver.

"Don't let that girl go." He told Seth, and then drove off.

Seth stood on the sidewalk as he pondered the man's words, then turned around and walked through the glass swinging doors into the hotel. He saw Summer sitting on a brown leather chair near the concierge desk. She waited there until Seth had checked in, and when he started walking towards a bellhop, who they each gave their bags to and the spare key to their room, then walked to the elevator and stepped in.

The ride in the elevator to their floor was one of awkwardness. Seth stood against one side of the elevator while Summer stood against the other. Both pairs of eyes were fixed on the gold metal doors in front of them and they tried desperately to avoid each other's gaze.

Eventually it was Seth who gave in, not wanting to have Summer mad at him, even if they weren't together. And he didn't exactly know why she was angry at him, or if she even was, but he figured he better apologize anyway.

"I'm sorry Summer." He apologized, his words soft and sincere.

"For what?" She asked, and she turned her head to face him, her eyes focused on the marble wall of the elevator beside him.

"For what I said in the car." Seth responded, "But I did mean them." He added, and looked down at the floor, slightly hesitant to say what he was about to,

"Any guy would be lucky to be with you." He told her quietly, and looked up at her. "I know I was."

Their chocolate eyes locked, and they both felt the sparks. Their breaths became deeper and their minds were starting to spin, and the sexual tension was painfully obvious Summer wanted him so badly, and the feelings she had hidden away for the past two years came surging back. Seth's loyalty to his girlfriend had quickly evaporated the moment he began speaking, and the only thing in him was his want for Summer and the pain of two years without her.

So they both did what their instincts told them and wanted they had wanted to do ever since they broke up. They both came together quickly and they kissed so intensely and passionately they thought they were going to pass out.

Seth ran his tongue along Summer's bottom lip, seeking entrance to her mouth and Summer obliged. Their tongues danced together as they claimed the places they knew so well once again.

Seth gently turned Summer around and pinned her against the hard wall with his body and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other held the back of her neck, holding her against his lips, and Summer put both of her shorter arms around his neck and placed her hands firmly on the back of his head.

The elevator had stopped on their floor and the doors opened, but neither Seth nor Summer wanted to stop and get off, so they just let the doors close again and Seth reached over to the left of Summer and pressed the emergency stop button.

A serious lack of oxygen forced them to pull away from each other, and only stopped to fill their lungs with air until they were back to exploring each other's mouths. Seth picked Summer up so she was equal height with him and she wrapped her legs around him tightly. Their tongues battled with each other and hands were touching wherever they could. The passion that had been locked away for two years was being unleashed furiously on one another and neither Seth or Summer wanted to stop anytime soon, although they knew how hard it would be to be around each other after.

But they pushed those thoughts to the back of their minds and only focused on being with each other. After five minutes of some serious making out, Seth finally pushed the button that opened the doors to the elevator, and carried Summer down the hallway, trying to find their room. He was having a difficult time doing so though because Summer was heatedly placing kisses all of his face.

Finally they came to room 725 and Seth slid the card key into the slot and opened the door. He walked Summer and himself over to one of the beds, throwing their luggage that the bellhop brought up onto the floor.

He carefully lowered Summer onto the bed and climber on top of her, their lips coming together once again. Summer's hands pushed Seth's jacket off and threw it off the bed, and Seth slipped off Summer's Brown hoodie. Seth realized that he was about to cheat on Arielle, his girlfriend, but then remembered something Ryan told him a few years ago; that it wasn't really cheating if you were cheating on someone you didn't love with someone you did love. And Seth knew for sure that he didn't love Arielle and never would. He would only ever love one girl, Summer.

While Seth was thinking about this, he hadn't realized that Summer had pulled his shirt off and now his hands were at the hem of her black fitted t-shirt. Summer rolled them over so that she was on top and she readjusted so her knees were bent and her thighs were on either side of him. Seth sat up so she was straddling him and he pulled off her shirt slowly and began to kiss her neck with an open mouth. Summer breathed heavily and put one hand on Seth's neck and one at the back of his neck, holding him against her neck and chest. Seth pulled the covers back and he and Summer quickly moved under them, keeping their same position. Seth's hands touched her lower back softly, and the heat from his hands heated Summer's entire body and sent desire flooding all throughout her. His hands softly and slowly moved up her back, teasing her, and finally reached the clasp of her bra. His fingers fumbled with the clasp for several minutes and Summer let out a laugh.

"What?" He asked, confused at why she was laughing.

"You've been working on that clasp for about five minutes." Summer said, still laughing at Seth's awkwardness.

Seth smiled at Summer, her face looked most beautiful when she had a smile and was laughing.

"Well I haven't done this for two years." He told her, his fingers going back to work.

"Wait, what?" Summer asked, as she realized at what he had just told her, "You haven't had sex since we broke up?"

"No." Seth said, his fingers stopping what they were so desperate to do.

"Why?" Summer whispered.

"You're the only one I'd want to do it with." He said truthfully.

"But what if we never got the chance to?"

"Then I wouldn't have done it. You're the only one Summer."

Summer smiled broadly at his words and pressed his lips against hers hard, then pulled away to speak.

"I haven't either." She told him in a soft voice, and he smiled wide, showing her his adorable dimples which made her heart melt.

They kissed intensely again, and Seth's fingers, more confident now after their revelations, finally undid the clasp. Their lips parted but their foreheads remained touching, and Seth slowly slid Summer's bra from off her chest and finally released her arms from the straps. Seth's hands cautiously cupped Summer's breasts and Summer shuddered at the feel of his hands finally on her once again.

They kissed again, hungrily this time, as they let their desire and lust for each other take over. Summer hands reached for Seth's belt and quickly undid the buckle and sliding it out from the loops and throwing it somewhere onto the floor. Her delicate fingers unzipped the zipper and undid the button. Seth put his strong hands on her waist and carefully flipped them over so that Summer was now lying on the bed, and he was on top of her holding his weight on his forearms so as not to crush her. Summer pulled his jeans down as far as she could without moving and he kicked them the rest of the way off. Seth's hands moved from Summer's neck and back down to her waist and undid the button and zipper. He sat up on his knees and looked into Summer's eyes as he slowly pulled her jeans off her legs, his hands torturously touching her as he went. Once her jeans were off of her legs, his hand remained at her ankle and slowly felt up her bent leg and then laid back down on top of her and kissed her softly as she slipped her hands into his boxers and slowly pulled them down. Seth then broke their kiss and looked down at her with safe and gentle eyes. Summer smiled at him, showing him that she was comfortable and confident in what they were about to do. Seth reached down and pulled his wallet out of his jeans pocket and pulled a condom from it. He slid it on and looked down at Summer who nodded at him. Seth kissed her forehead before he slid into her, and both of them gasped in pleasure which they hadn't felt in so long.

After it was over, Summer laid close next to Seth, her head resting where neck met shoulder, her arms around his chest, and Seth had his head resting on Summer's, one arm under her back and holding her shoulder, the other laid softly on her rest.

Neither of them knew what this meant for them. Whether they would get back together or just go on like nothing happened, but for the moment, they just wanted to be next to one another with no words spoken.

_I love the way you stand in my way  
You won't move 'til you get a kiss  
And how you tell me that my name  
It tastes so sweet on your lips  
I love the way you hold me with your eyes  
Hold me so tight that I can't move  
It's like everything I've ever known is a lie  
And you're the simple truth_

_Is it a dream or is it real?  
All I know is you make me feel so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
You make me feel so beautiful (Feel like I could fly)  
Beautiful (cross the clear blue sky)  
Beautiful (Baby I could cry)  
You make me feel so beautiful_

_I love how soft you touch my skin  
Like you're touching the wings of a butterfly  
I wish we could just lock ourselves away in a room  
Where there was no such thing as time  
I've never let anyone get this close  
I've always been afraid  
But you break down every wall and I feel so safe_

_Every part of who I am  
Is so in love cause what I have is beautiful  
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful  
You make me feel so beautiful (Feel like I could fly)  
Beautiful (cross the clear blue sky)  
Beautiful (Baby I could cry)  
You make me feel so beautiful  
Beautiful...  
You make me feel so beautiful (When you touch my face)  
Beautiful (When you say my name)  
Beautiful (Always find the way)  
You make me feel so  
Beautiful_

* * *

**Hope you liked it and please reveiw and/or comment!**

**Song: Beautiful by Faith Hill**

_**jjluvxoxo** _


	5. Another You

Another You  


Summer woke up to bright sunlight streaming through places where the curtain didn't cover the window and looked around to remember where she was. It was then she realized she was sleeping on Seth's chest, his head resting on top of hers. She quickly pulled away and sat up as it dawned on her what had happened only a few short hours ago. She looked down at Seth who was still in a deep sleep, and threw the covers off of herself and went over to her pink duffle bag that was on the table next to Seth's black one. She unzipped it and pulled out some clothes, clothes which she had thrown in the bag in a hurry. All she had brought were two pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts and tank tops, some underwear and bras, and a dark blue sweater. She had been in such a rush that she didn't even think to bring a few lacey and silky tops, but decided no one would really care what she was wearing.

So she grabbed some clean clothes and makeup and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. She set her things down on the closed lid of the toilet and stepped into the shower, shutting the glass door behind her. She let the scorching hot water hit her skin, turning the shade into a light red.

Summer didn't regret what happened with her and Seth, but she knew it would make things so much harder for the two of them. They both knew they weren't getting back together, what they did was out of a sudden burst of passion and lust for one another.

Summer sort of felt bad for Arielle, even though she severely disliked her. She felt bad for her because she had Seth, who was amazing and really sweet, whom she probably loved, and Seth cheated on her. And Arielle would of course be devastated if she found out; Summer knew that she would be if he did it to her. But, Seth and Arielle's relationship was no where near where Seth and Summer's was.

Seth woke up to the sound of running water and took a second to remember he was, and who he was with. Him and Summer. Even though Seth knew what he did was wrong and a terrible thing for him to do, he couldn't help but feel a little happy. After two years of wishing for this and regretting ever breaking up with her, Summer was with him once again.

Okay, so she wasn't really _with_ him, after all, he still had a girlfriend. But who he didn't love. And he loved Summer; he had never stopped loving her. Now Seth was really confused. To everyone else in the world it was simple who he should be with, but Seth couldn't just break up with Arielle. She was really sweet, smart, and into comics and anime, and those were things he'd never find in another girl. Sure he loved Summer, but was that really enough in a relationship? Of course you needed love, or at least some kind of affection, but you also needed to have things in common or else you just drift apart from each other, or change each other. That's what happened to Summer and him; their love had changed the both of them, and unfortunately, that's what caused that fall out of their relationship.

Seth was pulled out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone, and he looked for his phone, finally finding it underneath Summer's hoodie. He reached over and picked it up, flipping it open and holding it up to his ear.

"Hello."

"Hey man, where are you?" Ryan's voice asked.

"Hey Ryan," Seth said brightly. He hadn't talked to Ryan since a week ago, and he was anxious to tell Ryan about him and Summer. "I'm at the hotel."

"You're at the hotel? Why didn't you call?"

"Sorry, I was a little," Seth paused, "Distracted."

"Distracted?" Ryan asked, confused at what his brother was telling him.

"Yeah, by Summer."

"Summer's with you?" Ryan asked, shocked at what he had just heard. "Are you guys back together?"

"No, but something happened." Seth confessed. He tried to speak quietly so that if Summer turned of the water she wouldn't hear his conversation with Ryan.

"You guys kissed?" Ryan guessed.

"No, we uh, we had sex."

"You **what**?" Ryan asked loudly, completely stunned at what Seth told him.

"Shhh," Seth hissed quietly, "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't, but Seth, what are you going to do? I mean you have a girlfriend and if you tell Summer that it was just sex she'll probably take it pretty hard."

"I don't think Summer thought we were getting back together Ryan." Seth told him, "She still hasn't forgiven me for breaking up with her."

"Do you still love her?" Ryan asked.

Seth hesitated to answer. He really didn't know how to answer this question; while it was obvious that he loved her, he didn't know how to be with the new Summer.

"Yeah."

Both of them were silent while they both pondered the situation, and it was Ryan who spoke first.

"Can I ask you a question then?" He asked, his voice now lower than before.

"Sure."

"Why are you with Arielle when you're still in love with Summer?" Ryan asked, finally asking Seth the question he had in his mind since Seth started dating Arielle.

"Because it was the old Summer who wanted to be with me. And maybe she thinks she has to stay with me, but if that's true, then I'm holding her back." Seth said. This was the fear that he hadn't told anyone except Captain Oats.

"But don't you think that what you two did was proof that your theory isn't true?" Ryan asked.

"Never once did she say she loved me."

"Did you?"

"Well, no."

"I think you just need to tell her how you feel." Ryan suggested. He thought Seth was being a complete idiot. It was so obvious that he was still madly in love with Summer, but he was with another girl. Why did his best friend have to be so self-sacrificing? For once, why couldn't he just tell Summer how he really felt? Because now both of them were miserable.

"Ryan, you there?" Seth asked after hearing silence.

"Sorry, I'm here. Look Seth I have to go, but you need to tell Summer how you feel." Ryan said, "Oh and by the way, I'm in room 101 and your parents are in room 103." He added before hanging up.

Seth put his cell phone on the table in between the two beds and then found the boxers that he had worn earlier and put them back on, then sat down on the bed with his head in his hands.

God he was in such a disaster now. What was he going to tell his girlfriend? What was he going to tell Summer? He really loved her, and he would rather die than hurt her, but they couldn't go down this road again. It always ended in heartbreak and hurt. And Seth didn't want to hurt Summer anymore than she already had been. She needed a new life; and he had to tell her that. He had to tell her that they could never be together again.

Summer turned of the water of the shower and opened the glass door. She saw some fluffy white towels on a shelf above the toilet and took one to dry herself off with. She pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a green "Save the Earth" long-sleeved shirt and went over to the sink to blow dry her hair with the blow dryer on the wall. She applied a little makeup; she didn't wear as much as she used to, and exited the bathroom into the main room, where she found Seth sitting on the bed.

_Oh no, he looks like there's something wrong. _Summer thought to herself, _I hope he doesn't regret what we did._

"Cohen," Summer said, causing Seth to turn his head to look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No."

Summer bit her lower lip and focused her eyes on the carpet.

"So you don't regret what happened?" She asked, avoiding his eyes.

Seth noticed Summer bite her lip, which he knew she did when nervous or embarrassed, and walked over to her, putting both his hands gently on her shoulders.

"I don't regret a single second of it." Seth told her honestly.

This caused Summer to look up at him and smile slightly. She was relieved to hear that he didn't regret it, and that he had wanted her as much as she wanted him, but she knew that with something good always came something bad and waited to hear what he was going to say next.

"But it can't happen again." Seth said softly, "I have a girlfriend, and we just can't go down that road again."

"I know." Summer said.

"You should go home." Seth told her.

"But what about your parents? I should go and see them before I leave." Summer said. She didn't want to leave without telling Sandy and Kirsten how she was sorry about the Nana.

"Summer," Seth's voice sounded almost desperate as he said her name, "I need you to go. Please."

"Fine." Summer said shortly. She grabbed her clothes from off the floor and put them in her bag, zipped it up, threw it over her shoulder and walked briskly over to the door. Without even a momentary look at Seth, she opened the door and shut it, running over to the elevator.

Now that she was out of Seth's sight she let her tears fall down onto her face. Summer knew that this was it for her and Seth. And it was time she started to get over him, because he was obviously over her; he had basically told her to go home and leave him alone.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It was about 3 hours after Summer had left, and Seth had finally decided to go see his parents and Ryan. He searched the doors for room 103 and when he finally found it he knocked and the door immediately opened and he came face to face with his father.

"Seth," Sandy Cohen said, his voice sounding only a little sad. "You made it."

Sandy pulled his son into a hug and Seth asked, "How are you doing Dad?"

"Oh, I'm doing alright." Sandy answered as he pulled away from Seth.

"I'm sorry about the Nana." Seth said genuinely, and Sandy nodded, understanding what his son meant.

Kirsten quickly went over to Seth and embraced him as well.

"I'm glad you're here." She whispered to him.

"Where's Ryan?" Seth asked, after noticing Ryan wasn't in the room with them.

"He's getting some take-out." Sandy answered, "Have you eaten?"

"No. I just got in a little while ago." Seth lied. He didn't want to tell his parents that he had been in Miami for almost the whole day because then they would be suspicious of why he hadn't at least called them.

"And Summer wants me to tell you guys how sorry she is."

"Summer?" Both Sandy and Kirsten both said in shocked unison.

"Are you guys back together?" Sandy asked.

"No!" Seth immediately said, "I called her to tell her what happened."

Kirsten nodded, not really believing what her son was telling her. She knew that Seth and Summer had a very complicated relationship, and by the way her son was being so defensive when they mentioned the two of them she knew that something was going on.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Two days had passed since Seth had flown down from Miami and all of his time was spent visiting his family and getting the Nana's affairs in order.

Now he was on the airplane as it flew him back to Providence, holding in his hands what the Nana had left for him in her will; her old engagement ring. It was a yellow gold band with three medium-sized diamonds set on it.

Deep down Seth felt like he wasn't going to get to give it to anyone. He didn't really _want_ to give it to anyone. He only wanted to marry one woman, and he knew that it wasn't going to happen. They had tried to be together, but it always ended up in tears and heartbreak.

He stared at the ring for a little while longer then put it back into the blue velvet box and back into his inside jacket pocket.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Summer finally made it back into her dorm and she slammed the door behind her. The sadness and tears had disappeared while she was on the airplane, and now she was furious.

Seth couldn't keep playing these games with her; one minute acting like they meant nothing to each other then telling her how he was so lucky to have her then telling her to go back to Rhode Island.

Summer wasn't going to give into him. She wasn't going to show him how her life had completely derailed since they broke up. She was going to do everything in her power to make him jealous and regret breaking up with her.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Seth opened the door of his apartment and switched on the light to find Arielle sitting on the couch.

"Arielle," He said loudly, "How'd you get in here?"

"You gave me a spare key remember?" Arielle asked Seth. She stood up from the couch and went over to him.

"Oh, right." Seth said.

Arielle tried to put her arms around Seth but he carefully avoided her attempt.

"I'm really sorry about your grandmother."

"Thanks." Seth said, taking off his jacket and hanging on the arm of the couch.

He went into his bedroom and sat down on the bed and began to untie his Converses. He pulled them off and he went over to his closet, stripped off his shirt, and put on a clean novelty t-shirt. He heard Arielle telling him not to just leave his jacket lying around and he rolled his eyes at her.

Seth came out of the bedroom and saw Arielle sitting on the armrest of the couch with her mouth slightly open and holding something in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Seth asked.

Arielle quickly turned her head towards Seth and showed him what she was holding.

It was the ring.

"Oh my god." Seth whispered to himself.

Arielle smiled widely and brightly and launched herself into Seth's arms, kissing him hard on the lips.

"Yes." Arielle said happily.

Seth's eyes widened as he figured out what was going on. Arielle found the ring, assumed Seth was going to propose, and said yes.

Oh god she had said yes. He looked at Arielle who was looking down at her hand and Seth's eyes looked down as well. She was wearing the ring on her finger. Seth knew what that meant.

He was engaged. And it wasn't to Summer, like he had imagined since he was 16.

_Yesterday morning, just before noon  
I passed a girl wearing your old perfume  
And I stopped and stared  
I could almost see you standing there  
Don't get me wrong - I'm almost over you  
But now and then I like to go walking through  
Some of our old times  
Even though I realize_

_I'll have another chance  
I'll find another girl  
I'll see another day  
And I'll build another world  
I'll start another life just like you told me to  
And I'll find another love  
But there will never be another you_

_Night after night I go back through the years  
I sit on this porch as the sun disappears  
Like we did back then  
I remind myself once again_

_That I'll have another chance  
I'll find another girl  
I'll see another day  
I'll build another world  
I'll start another life  
Just like you told me to  
And I'll find another love  
But there'll never be another you_

_Well I guess I should thank you for showing me how love should feel  
I know what I'm gonna look for cuz I felt it when you held me_

_And I'll have another chance  
I'll find another girl  
I'll see another day  
And I'll build another world  
I'll start another life just like you told me to  
I'll find another love  
But there'll never be another you  
Another you_

* * *

**Please R&R as always, and thanks so much for all your great reveiws!**

**Song: Another You by David Kersh**

_**jjluvxoxo**__  
_


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